Media company in China accused of betraying protesters

AP, BEIJING

Wed, Jan 01, 2014 - Page 1

A southern Chinese news company at the center of free speech protests earlier this year has come under fire for turning against demonstrators who sought to defend it in a dispute with censors.

The Southern Weekly’s editorial staff staged a rare, but short-lived revolt against censorship in January that attracted dozens of protesters.

Its supporters turned up at the gates of the paper’s owner, the Southern Media Group in Guangzhou, to lay flowers, holding signs and shouting slogans in support of free speech and democracy.

However, it has now been revealed that the Southern Media Group (南方報業傳媒集團) declared in a statement to the police that the protests interfered with the operations of the news company, effectively providing evidence likely to be used against the activists, including prominent democracy worker Guo Feixiong (郭飛雄).

A leaked copy of the declaration circulated online over the weekend.

Guo’s lawyer Zhang Xuezhong (張雪忠) confirmed that the leaked statement matched a copy he had seen at the Guangzhou prosecutors’ office.

The dispute was quietly resolved after editorial staff and censors reached a compromise.

However, nearly a year later, at least three of the protesters, including Guo, are now likely to face public disturbance charges.

The week-long fracas at the Southern Weekly in January had evolved from a row over censorship at one newspaper to a call for free speech and political reform across China, handing an unexpected test to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) just two months after he was installed.

Among those criticizing the company are some of its current and former staff, who have posted messages on their microblogging accounts or other social media sites.

Others who criticized the media group included liberal intellectuals and activists. Many of the supporting messages were quickly removed by censors.

“Citizens should have the right to assembly and free speech, and these are also rights that journalists pursue and defend,” wrote Zhang Zhe (張哲), a reporter who was working at Southern Weekly at the time, but has since left.

Zhang confirmed when he was reached by telephone that he had written the message and posted it online.

Zhang wrote that “there was no violent disruption whatsoever at the time” and that he condemned the media group’s statement against the protesters.

Calls to the newspaper and Southern Media Group were either unanswered or not returned.

The Southern Weekly case is part of a wide-ranging crackdown on peaceful street protests last year that has underscored the anxiety with which the party’s leadership regards political activism outside its control.

Even though the Southern Weekly is known for its edgy reporting, its parent company remains answerable to the CCP, just like most domestic media outlets.

Supporters of Guo who were also at the January protest said the accusations of public disturbance against him and other demonstrators are trumped up in a bid to convict them as a warning to others.